Southern highbush blueberries are a relatively new type of cultivated blueberry. The cultivated varieties of southern highbush were developed by lowering the chilling requirement of northern highbush blueberry varieties, which were domesticated during the early 1900s from high-chill forms of Vaccinium corymbosum from Michigan and New Jersey. A native Florida blueberry species, Vaccinium darrowi, provided the low-chill genes needed to produce southern highbush blueberry. Southern highbush blueberries can be cultivated in areas with mild winters, where warm temperatures in late winter and early spring permit flowering and ripening early in the season. Southern highbush and northern highbush blueberry varieties are complementary; together they provide blueberries for the fresh market from April 1 to September 15 in the northern hemisphere and from October 1 to March 15 in the southern hemisphere.
To be commercially useful, southern highbush blueberry varieties require favorable combinations of numerous plant and berry characteristics. Plant characteristics include high vigor, low chilling requirement, high yield potential, and the ability to tolerate a dozen or more potentially serious diseases that thrive in hot, wet areas. Desirable berry qualities include large size, light blue color, and dry picking scar, along with good firmness, texture, and flavor.
‘Abundance’ came from a long-term breeding program at the University of Florida in which recurrent selection is being used to bring together as many desirable characteristics as possible in a series of varieties that are adapted to various parts of the southeastern United States. ‘Abundance’ came from a cross between FL93-70 (unpatented) and FL90-4 (unpatented), which was made in a greenhouse in Gainsville, Fla. in March 1993. The seedling was first fruited in a high-density nursery in Gainesville in April 1995. Plants were propagated from softwood cuttings and a 15-plant plot was established in a commercial blueberry planting at Windsor, Fla. (near Gainsville) in January 1999. The clone was repropagated and several hundred plants were planted in Archer, Fla. in January 2001. These plants were observed each year during fruiting season. The plants appear uniform in all characteristics, and the clone appears to have a combination of characteristics that would make it a valuable commercial cultivar.